Portola Valley: Four candidates likely in election Portola Valley: Four candidates likely in election (August 17, 2005)

** George Comstock decides one term is enough.

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

George Comstock's Wednesday night schedule may be a little less crowded over the next four years now that he has decided not to run in the November election for a second term on the Portola Valley Town Council.

Three of the five council seats are open this year. Incumbents Richard Merk and Ted Driscoll have filed candidacy papers, as has resident SallyAnn Reiss, said Town Administrator Angela Howard. Resident Maryann Moise Derwin has taken out papers and told the Almanac she plans to run.

Anyone interested in running for the council must file candidacy papers at Town Hall by 5 p.m. Wednesday, August 17.
George Comstock

Mr. Comstock, who served eight years on the town's Architecture & Site Control Commission before being elected councilman, announced his decision not to run at the August 10 council meeting.

"What a privilege it has been to be involved in our community in this way," said Mr. Comstock reading from a letter at the council meeting. "I have developed enormous respect for the many people in town government I have come to know -- their integrity, their dedication and their talents. After these 12 years, I think it's time to give someone else a turn."
Incumbents

Mr. Merk, 60, is a retired general contractor in his 10th year on the council and a longtime resident. He said he is running for re-election because he's worried about too much change, that Portola Valley's tradition of using volunteers -- rather than professionals -- to handle town business is "starting to slip away."

Mr. Driscoll, who is running for a fourth four-year term, is a partner at Novus Ventures of Cupertino and the director of a land-mine detector project for Benetech, a nonprofit that works on technological projects for disadvantaged communities.

Mr. Driscoll said his principal reason for running is that he wants to see the building of a new Town Center complex through to completion.
New candidates

Ms. Reiss, 39, is married, has three children and is a 10-year resident of Portola Valley. She is chair of the Parks & Recreation Committee and a former board member of the Windmill preschool.

She retired four years ago from Alviso-based TiVo corporation, where she was executive vice president of communications. She describes herself as a Republican on fiscal matters and a Democrat on social issues.

Ms. Reiss told the Almanac she enjoys public service and the rural character of Portola Valley. A council seat would put her in a position to preserve that character as the town changes, she said.

Ms. Derwin, 51, is a married homemaker with two children and has lived in Portola Valley for 13 years, where, she said, she enjoys the town's "non-suburban ethos."

She has been active in the local school district, having served a term as PTA president and co-chaired a 2001 school bond committee. She is a member of the district's foundation board.

She's running, she said, because change is inevitable and so must be "carefully managed" to maintain the town as a "tranquil and family-oriented community" -- a phrase she said she borrowed from the town's general plan.

"The dialog (resulting) from an actual race will be very healthy for the community," she said, referring to the likelihood of at least four candidates running for three council seats.

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